Light transducer for fluid amplifier



Jan. 11, 1966 H. W. STRAUB LIGHT TRANSDUCER FOR FLUID AMPLIFIER Filed Jan. 22 1964 N VEN TOE,

United States Patent Oflice 3,228,411 Patented Jan. 11, 1966 3,228,411 LIGHT TRANSDUCER FOR FLUID AMPLIFIER Harald W. Straub, 7008 Richard Drive, Bethesda, Md. Filed Jan. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 339,562 15 Claims. (Cl. 137-815) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The invention relates generally to fluid systems, and more particularly to fluid amplifier systems wherein one or more control streams are subject to the control of a light transducer. Fluid amplifiers have widespread military and commercial applications. They oifer simplicity of design and manufacture, and they last indefinitely. Fluid amplifiers have a very fast response time, limited only by the speed of sound in the acoustic media employed by the amplifier.

It is an object of this invention to extend the usefulness of fluid amplifiers into other than pure fluid systems.

It is another object of the invention to improve the control of a fluid amplifier.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a light transducer for the control of a fluid amplifier.

It is still another object of the instant invention to provide an improved control for fluid amplifiers which uses no moving parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical signal to fluid signal transducer.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an electromagnetic radiation signal to fluid signal transducer.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a system which produces a fluid signal which varies in response to a light intensity.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system which produces a fluid signal which varies in response to the rate of reaction or decomposition of chemical reagents.

Briefly described, the invention employs a light trans ducer the output of which varies the pressure of a control stream in a fluid amplifier. Specifically, the light transducer comprises a source of light and a reaction chamber which is irradiated by the light source. Means are provided for introducing chemical reagents into the reaction chamber. Under the influence of the light the chemical reagents either react with one another or decompose depending upon the nature of the reagents used. The pressure within the reaction chamber varies as a result of the chemical action therein. This change in pressure is then used to produce a change in a control stream of a fluid amplifier.

The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, aspects, uses and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the basic structure of a fluid amplifier, and

FIGURE 2 shows a fluid amplifier having one control stream nozzle connected to the output of a light transducer.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and more particularly to FIGURE 1 wherein there is shown a fluid amplifier 10 having a power nozzle 11 and two control nozzles 12 and 13. A steady fluid jet is ejected through the power nozzle against a stream splitter 14. This jet will hereinafter be referred to as the power stream. On either side of the stream splitter are output passages 15 and 16 which collect the fluid in the power stream. The stream splitter is positioned on the axis of the power stream and down stream from the power nozzle in such a way that the power stream is evenly divided between the two outputs. Now if a controlling fluid jet is ejected through control nozzle 12, the power stream is deflected towards output 15. There is therefore an increase in the portion of the power stream collected by output 15 and a decrease in the portion of the power stream collected by output 16. Controlling fluid jets will hereinafter be referred to as control streams. These streams are under considerably less pressure than the power stream. Therefore, it can be seen that by using a low pressure stream to control a high pressure stream, the resulting out-put of the device is an amplified fluid signal of a control stream signal. Obviously, the device described also operates under the influence of the control stream ejected by control nozzle 13. By causing the pressure of the control stream issuing from nozzle 13 to vary in accordance with another signal, the fluid amplifier 10 acts like a diiferential gear or a differential amplifier. For a further understanding of fluid amplifier, the reader is directed to an article entitled An Introduction to Proportional Fluid Control by Silas Katz which appears on pages 21 to 25 of the Proceedings of the Fluid Amplification Symposium, vol. 1, October 1962.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 of the drawing wherein there is shown a reaction chamber 17 which is transparent to light having two inputs 18 and 19 and having an output 20 connected to control nozzle 12. Inputs 18 and 19 have suitable control valves 21 and 22, respectively, disposed therein. Eaeh input is connected to a source of chemical reagent (not shown). If, for example, the reagent supplied by input 18 is hydrogen and the reagent supplied by input 19 is chlorine, the two reagents will mix in the reaction chamber and the mixture will flow through output 20 to control nozzle 12 to become the right-hand control stream. This will cause the power stream to deflect to the left, and a greater portion of the power stream will be collected by output 15. To prevent the deflection of the power stream, an equal and opposite flow through nozzle 13 may be ejected. Under those conditions the power stream will be equally divided between outputs 15 and 16. If, now, the reaction chamber is illuminated by light source 23, the hydrogen and chlorine mixture will react to form hydrogen chloride gas according to the following chemical equation:

This reaction is exothermic, and the heat developed by it causes the hydrogen chloride gas to expand. Therefore, the pressure in the reaction chamber increases since the volume of the chamber is constant. As a result the pressure of the control stream ejected by nozzle 12 will overcome the bias supplied by the control stream ejected by nozzle 13, and the power stream will be deflected to the 3 left. Thus, the distribution of flow through the outputs 15 and 16 is controlled by illumination of reaction chamber 17.

The reaction of hydrogen and chlorine under the influence of light is explosive. To reduce and control the rate of reaction, the ratio of the two reagents is made nonstoichiometric, i.e. a greater number of moles of one reagent is mixed with a lesser number of moles of the other reagent. This is done by adjusting the valves 21 and 22 in input lines 18 and 19. I A change in pressure in the reaction chamber may also be caused by introducing only one reagent and causing it to decompose under the influence of light. One reagent useful for this purpose is nitrogen dioxide which decomposes according to the following chemical formula:

In this case the increase in presure is due to an increase in the number of moles or an increase of 2 to 3. Another decomposition which is useful is that of azomethane into ethane and nitrogen according to the folowing chemical formula:

The number of moles increases from 1 to 2 causing the increase pressure. A particular advantage to this reaction is that all the compounds involved are non-corrosive. The wavelength of the light used must be near 3660 A. For this purpose a mercury arc can be used. Additionally, the decomposition of acetaldehyde into methane and carbon monoxide according to the following chemical formula may be used:

In order to be in the gaseous stage, the temperature of the acetaldehyde has to be above 250 C., and the wavelength of the radiation has to be 3600 A. or shorter. This necessitates a reactor chamber of clear fused quartz.

Of course, more than one of the control streams of a fluid amplifier can be controlled by light transducers. Other and different chemical reagents can be used which react or decompose under the influence of electromagnetic radiation. The intensity of the electromagnetic radiation can be varied by an electrical signal which is generated by any suitable source. The system described can be used to measure the rate of light stimulated reactions or decompositions. The system finds further application in measuring light intensity.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a fluid amplifier having a power stream, two control streams positioned opposite each other and perpendicular to said power stream, a stream splitter positioned on the axis of and downstream from said power stream, and two output channels on either side of said stream splitter, the improvement comprising a reaction chamber, means connecting said reaction chamber to said fluid arn plifier for supplying at least one of said control streams, at least two chemical reagents, means for supplying said chemical reagents to said reaction chamber, and means for causing said reagents to react.

2. The improvement as recited in claim 1 wherein said means for causing said reagents to react includes a source of light.

3. The improvement as recited in claim 2 wherein said chemical reagents are hydrogen and chlorine.

4. The improvements as recited in claim 3 wherein the ratio of hydrogen and chlorine is non-stoichiometric.

5. In a fluid amplifier having a power stream, two control streams positioned opposite each other and perpendicular to said power stream, a stream splitter positioned on the axis of and downstream from said power stream, and two output channels on either side of said stream splitter, the improvement comprising a reaction chamber, means connecting said reaction chamber to said fluid amplifier for supplying at least one control stream, a chemical reagent, means for supplying said chemical reagent to said reaction chamber, and means for causing said reagent to decompose.

6. The improvement as recited in claim 5 wherein said means for causing said reagent to decompose includes a source of light.

7. The improvement as recited in claim 6 wherein said chemical reagent is nitrogen dioxide.

8. The improvement as recited in claim 6 wherein said chemical reagent is azomethane.

9. The improvement as recited in claim 6 wherein said chemical reagent is acetaldehyde.

10. An electrical to fluid signal transducer comprising a source of electrical signals to be converted, means responsive to said source of electrical signals for radiating electromagnetic energy, a reaction chamber in the path of said electromagnetic energy, means supplying at least one chemical reagent to said reaction chamber, a fluid amplifier having a power stream and at least one control stream, said control stream being positioned perpendicular to said power stream, and means connecting said control stream to said reaction chamber whereby the reaction of said chemical reagent under the influence of said electromagnetic radiation varies the pressure of said control stream thereby producing a deflection of said power stream proportional to the intensity of said electrical signals.

11. The combination recited in claim 10 wherein said means for radiating is a light source.

12. An electromagnetic radiation to fluid transducer comprising a source of electromagnetic radiation to be converted, a reaction chamber in the path of said electromagnetic radiation, means for supplying at least one chemical reagent to said reaction chamber, a fluid amplifier having a power stream and at least one control stream, said control stream being positioned perpendicular to said power stream, and means connecting said control stream to said reaction chamber whereby the reaction of said chemical reagent under the influence of said electromagnetic radiation varies the pressure of said control stream thereby producing a deflection of said power stream proportional to the intensity of said electromagnetic radiation.

13. The combination recited in claim 12 wherein said means for radiating is a light source.

14. A device for measuring light intensity comprising a reaction chamber on which the light to be measured is made to impinge, means for supplying at least one chemical reagent to said reaction chamber, a fiuid amplifier having a power stream and at least one control stream, said control stream being positioned perpendicular to said power stream, and means connecting said control stream to said reaction chamber whereby the reaction of said chemical reagent under the influence of the light impinging on said reaction chamber varies the pressure of said control stream thereby producing a deflection of said power stream proportional to the intensity of said light.

15. A device for measuring the rate of light stimulated reactions or decompositions comprising a source of constant intensity light, a reaction chamber which is illuminated by said light source, means for supplying at least one chemical reagent to said reaction chamber at a known rate,-a fluid amplifier having a power stream and at least one control stream, said control stream being positioned perpendicular to said power stream, and means connecting said control stream to said reaction chamber whereby the reaction or decomposition of said chemical reagent under the influence of said constant intensity light varies the pressure of said control stream thereby producing a deflection of said power stream proportional to the rate of the reaction or decomposition of said chemical reagent.

(References on following page) References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Wiederhold 250-211 X Sykes 250211 X Wehe.

Sarver 250211 X Roberts.

Dudley et a1 204157 X Friedman et a1. 25043.5 Cargill et a1. 137-815 Zilberfarb 137-815 X M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner.

S. SCOTT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A FLUID AMPLIFIER HAVING A POWER STREAM, TWO CONTROL STREAMS POSITIONED OPPOSITE EACH OTHER AND PERPENDICULAR TO SAID POWER STREAM, A STREAM SPLITTER POSITIONED ON THE AXIS OF AND DOWNSTREAM FROM SAID POWER STREAM, AND TWO OUTPUTS CHANNELS ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID STREAM SPLITTER, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A REACTION CHAMBER MEANS CONNETING SAID REACTION CHAMBER TO SAID FLUID AMPLIFIER FOR SUPPLYING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CONTROL STREAMS, AT LEAST TWO CHEMICAL REAGENTS, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING SAID CHEMICAL REAGENTS TO SAID REACTION CHAMBER, AND MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID REAGENTS TO REACT. 